Ditch the Microwave?

Article Courtesy of http://fithog.com/5-reasons-you-should-avoid-using-microwaves/
If you’re like most Americans, you use your microwave oven on a regular basis. First introduced in 1967 by the Amana Corporation, the microwave has become a North American kitchen staple. Microwave television dinners became all the rage, and you could have a meal ready in just seconds. Most appliances work by heating from the outside in. Not microwaves.
Microwaves use a magnetron to generate microwaves, a form of electromagnetic radiation. Sound a little worrying? It should be. The magnetrons produce electromagnetic fields and the microwaves produced create something called ‘dielectric heating’. This means that the microwaves will be absorbed by whatever’s put in there. It’s time to take a closer look at the microwave. Check out these 5 reasons you should avoid using microwaves. Some of them may surprise you.
1. They Can Leak Radiation
Here’s something that will help you sleep at night: even if you don’t actively eat food from a microwave, your health still could be at risk. The terrifying truth is that microwaves can actually leak radiation.
Microwaves do have to conform to pretty rigorous safety standards, especially for the newest models, and they’ve come a long way from how they used to be. However, even the newest microwave ovens are not immune to safety concerns. If you’re in the range of a microwave while it is being used, there is going to be some radiation that leaks out– and affects you. Especially if you’re relatively close to the radius of generated radiation.
It turns out that even a microwave that adheres to safety standards can actually still expose you to radiation– up to 400 milliGauss of it. What does that mean? Well, absorbing 4 milliGauss has been actually linked to developing leukemia. It’s a pretty good reason to ditch it all together.
2. They Turn “Live” Food Into “Dead” Food
You may have heard that food today does not carry the same nutritional bang for your buck that it did fifty and even a hundred years ago. Live food is usually eaten fresh and raw, and this live food carries bio-information as well as antioxidants, vitamins, and other essential nutrients. So what happens when you put this live food into a microwave? The majority of the good stuff that you want that goes into your body is rendered absolutely useless. The food dies, the nutritional value is gone, and it’s essentially stripped of everything that your body actually wants and needs from food.
A study in The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in November 2003 stated that broccoli that was microwaved with some water actually lost the majority of its antioxidants. How many? 97 percent. Maybe you could chalk it up to the cooking process, but steamed broccoli actually fared better, only losing 11 percent of its antioxidants. Likewise, a minute of microwaving garlic was enough to completely inactivate its cancer-fighting ingredient, allinase.
Microwaving renders much of the nutritional profile of food inert. Even breast milk lost its antibodies and lysozyme activity, and opened the door for potentially pathogenic bacteria to grow. Not only that, but amino acids were converted into biologically inactive elements, and amino acids that have been altered in some cases become poisonous to the kidneys as well as the nervous system. Yikes.
3. They Can Cause Uneven Heating and Hot Spots
Another reason to avoid microwaves? Well, they don’t always heat evenly. Sure, if you make a circle in the center of a plate of food, it’ll heat more evenly. But when it comes to heating liquids, that’s not always the case. This is a problem for well-meaning mothers who are still microwaving formula or breast milk for their children without knowing the risks and the harm it can cause. Besides altered chemistry, one of the biggest forms of harm that can come from this is uneven heating. While the liquid may appear uniformly heated, hot spots can occur that can severely burn your baby. They can even cause steam explosions. Yet another reason to turn to other methods for heating up or cooking food… and breast milk.
4. They Release Deadly Chemicals Into Your Food
Not only do microwaves cause the water molecules in food to vibrate very quickly and changes the structure of your food, they also can cause a lovely array of toxins and chemicals to leech out into your food. Sound scary? That’s because it is. Your health can be rapidly compromised from all the toxins that are suddenly appearing in your food. This could come from the plastic packaging you’re microwaving food in, the containers they’re in, or just the clear plastic wrap you’ve got over the top that’s melting into the food. These toxins could include dioxins (carcinogens), polyethylene terpthalate, benzene, xylene, toluene, bisphenol A(BPA), and more.
Avoid the cancer, fatigue, and other health risks and just skip microwaving in plastic bowls, containers, with plastic wrap, and more. If you must microwave, use microwave-safe glass to avoid all the nasty, body-disrupting chemicals. Yuck!
5. The Numerous Negative Health Effects
Microwaving changes the food and water molecules, making them deformed or even toxic. The microwaving can actually result in wildly negative health effects, and trust us, you don’t want any of them. It reduces hemoglobin levels, even causing anemia. It can make your HDL go down and your bad cholesterol (LDL) levels go up. It can actually cause the amount of red and white blood cells you have to go down, wrecking your immune system. Incredibly, the de-polarizing and magnetizing of the food you’re microwaving can actually cause you to become dumber, decreasing your intelligence, memory, or focus. Not only that, you could develop a hormone imbalance and even cancer. Just one more reason to change your lifestyle and ditch the microwave for good.